It’s been a busy week at the Tribune with editorial staff working on at least two stories a day at the Freeborn County Fair, work continuing on our ongoing series about workforce challenges in Albert Lea and work drawing to an end on our September/October issue of Albert Lea magazine.

It was a good week for weather at the fair, and I know our family had a great time on Saturday when we attended together.

My 7-year-old daughter had the guts to ride all the rides at the fair except for the Zipper, and my 3-year-old son enjoyed some of the rides for smaller children. This was the first year he has tolerated the rides, and once he got on, we couldn’t get him off.

They also enjoyed checking out the animals, though my son was a little afraid of the larger ones. In all, it was a success, and I’m sure my daughter is already counting down the days until next year’s fair.

We hope you have enjoyed the start of our ongoing series in the Tribune titled “Meeting the Workforce Challenge,” which has looked at how businesses are struggling to find skilled workers. Right now we’re looking at what the reasons may be behind it, and soon we will be looking into what local organizations are doing to relieve the situation. We’re talking to business leaders and owners, community leaders and educational leaders, among others.

On Wednesday, we are planning a story about whether Albert Lea’s graduation rates and population trends are having an affect on the workforce.

I appreciate the feedback we have already received about it, and we hope you will feel comfortable in continuing to share your opinions with us as the series unfolds.

The magazine has been fun this time around as the cover story features local residents with unusual pets. Here at the Tribune, we’ve had all sorts of nontraditional animals in the building to be photographed, including birds and lizards. They were neat to see, but I think I will stick to having a traditional pet, even though sometimes he can be pretty ornery.

There is also a feature on some successful adoption stories of pets from the Humane Society of Freeborn County.

People love their pets!

Not related to pets, for this magazine I also had the chance to catch up with 2000 Albert Lea High School graduate Marilyn Roche Amos, who was HGTV’s “Brother vs. Brother” last summer. She lives in Las Vegas and has her own full-service interior design studio called Parlor 430.

I love anything about interior design, so it was fun seeing all the work she has done and to hear her inspiration. It has given me an itch to start another project in my house. I’m always working on something!

Here at the Tribune, we’re also in the middle of a Facebook promotion.

Make sure to like the Tribune’s Facebook page. We passed 5,500 likes on Monday, and once we reach 5,600, we will draw a name from our followers to win $100 in Chamber bucks!

 

Sarah Stultz is managing editor of the Tribune.